Neuronal death during combined intermittent hypoxia/hypercapnia is due to mitochondrial dysfunction.

Breathing-disordered states, such as in obstructive sleep apnea, which are cyclical in nature, have been postulated to induce neurocognitive morbidity in both pediatric and adult populations. The oscillatory nature of intermittent hypoxia, especially when chronic, may mimic the paradigm of ischemia-reperfusion in that tissues and cells are exposed to episodes of low and high O(2) and this may lead to oxidant stress. Therefore, we decided to explore the potential contribution of oxidant stress in our intermittent hypoxia/hypercapnia animal model and the role that mitochondria might play in this stress.

Pyrosequencing protocol requiring a unique biotinylated primer.

Background: DNA sequencing has markedly changed the nature of biomedical research. Large-scale sequencing projects have generated several millions of potential polymorphisms widespread in the human genome requiring validation and incorporation into screening panels. As a consequence, high-throughput analysis of these variants in different populations of interest is now the cornerstone of structural genomics.